Mortal Kombat: New Age Chronicles
by LongLiveI
Summary: After Raiden's death, Fujin becomes the new protector of Earthrealm and finds himself racing against the clock to prepare for an upcoming Mortal Kombat tournament only 25 years after the last one. With numerous obstacles awaiting him, Fujin faces adversity as he tries his best to avoid his predecessor's mistakes and trying even harder not to make his own. (Inspired by MKX)
1. Chapter 1: Outworld Returns

Special Forces Facilities, Washington D.C, Maryland. Kenshi is alone within his personal dojo, using his telekinesis abilities to float in the air while simulating sitting in a meditative stature. He is a bit older now seeing that the years have passed, with his hair being a dark-grayish color and grown out to a short mop hairstyle. He is wearing a white karate uniform, black sash, and his usual red band around his eyes. His telekinetic power mixed with his heighten senses has allowed him to paint a vivid picture within his head that he often uses as a substitute for his eyes. This allowed him to detect Cassie Cage's, a young woman who he basically raised, entrance as she tried to silently tiptoe her way inside without being heard. Her hair was tightly rapped into a bun and she too was wearing a karate uniform, but hers was black with a dark green sash.

"Your late," he stated.

Cassie was yet again shocked, despite this being the outcome of every time she tried to sneak in unnoticed. She slumped her shoulders and let out a long sigh.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled as she stretched her arms and legs to loosen up a bit before they begin, "Why do we have to do this at four hundred in the morning anyway, Sensei. A girl like me needs her beauty sleep."

"Because our enemies never sleep," he said as he stopped floating and stood on the smooth, wooden boards of his dojo, "You must learn to be ready at all times. Now," Kenshi paused as he placed his hands behind his back, "Lets begin."

Elsewhere, a portal has opened and a woman in a blackish gray cloak steps through. An intrusion on Earthrealm grounds quickly catches the attention of Earth's guardian, Fujin, who immediately teleports himself from the heavens down to Earth. As the woman walks along the beach of what was formerly Shang Tsung's infamous island, Fujin appeared before her in a heavy gust of wind that caused the sand around them to disperse rapidly. Fujin stood with his arms crossed with an extremely serious look on his face. He was wearing a new entire given to him by the elder gods when he became Earth's protector. His clothing closely resemble that of Raiden's, except the color scheme was different. The white sleeves and pants were now aqua-green, the silver shoulder and shin pads were gold, and the vest and sash were black with gold trimming.

"You are intruding on Earthrealm soil. State your business here, or face my wraith," Fujin firmly stated, making every single word clear in an aggressive tone.

"I come in peace," stated the woman, "My only business here is to speak with Earthrealm's protector."

"You are speaking to him, for I am Fujin, god of the northern winds and Earthrealm's overseer," he informed her.

"Good," she said maliciously.

She removed the hood of the cloak, revealing herself to be Tanya. Her facial appearance was the same due to her having Edenian bloodlines. On the left part of Fujin's vest like strap sat Raiden's medallion, the carrier of Raiden's memories of the original events. It suddenly sent Fujin vivid visions of Tanya when she revealed her face to him. Unable to make sense of the vision, it clearly displayed that the woman that stood before him was not to be trusted.

"I bring a message from Outworld's new ruler," she began, "A Mortal Kombat tournament will be held upon these grounds, and it will be advised that Earthrealm participates."

"No such thing shall occur as Shao Kahn had given up Outworld's rights to claim this realm through Mortal Kombat. Tell your new ruler to learn the rules and abide by them, or he too will suffer the same fate as Shao Kahn."

"To correct you," she began with a smirk, "The deal that was in place stated that Shao Kahn would give up his pursuit of this realm. Our new emperor does not have to abide by the terms that were formally put in place as they do not pertain to him."

"Still, I do not have to agree to Mortal Kombat."

"Find, then you forfeit Earthrealm's right to defend itself against us."

"Spare me of your ignorance. By the rules of the elder gods, another tournament cannot be held until after..."

"The former rules of the elder gods were replaced by Raiden when he agreed to a single tournament format," she quickly interrupted, "Our emperor wishes to conquer this realm and he has every right to do so."

"Well, lets see what the elder gods have to say."

"Go ahead. Run to your elder gods, they will tell you the same," she responded with great confidence, "If you haven't notice, it is not their duty to cuddle this weak and pathetic realm."

Fujin stood silently. Although he was still planning on meeting with the elder gods on this matter, Tanya seemed correct in her argument.

"If I was to agree, what are the terms?" he asked just in case he failed to override the challenge.

"The emperor has propose an eight versus eight tournament, with each warrior choosing to represent either Outworld or Earthrealm at their own free will. The tournament will take place in Earthrealm on this island, with myself as it's host," she explained, "Despite my recommendation, the emperor is allowing you ten days of preparations. Fail to appear, or show up without your combatants, and Earthrealm will run rivers of blood as Outworld forces will invade and conquer."

Surprisingly, Fujin found the terms to be somewhat fair. Whoever managed to dominate the chaos of Outworld seemed to be nothing like Shao Kahn. He remained silent as he didn't want to quickly agree to anything as he was still going to speak with the elder gods. Tanya on the other hand had fulfilled her obligation and was preparing to leave.

"Oh, and before I forget," she said as she pulled something from under her cloak and held it in her right hand in clear sight for Fujin to see it. It was Bo Rai Cho's severed head, "The emperor sends this gift as a message that Outworld is now under one rule and you have no allies there. Cross this one off of your recruitment list," she said with a haunting laugh, slung the severed head out to sea, and disappear into a portal back to Outworld.

Despite his anger, Fujin remained disciplined. He wanted to rip her lib for lib for the death of his comrade and the disrespect she displayed in the process, but because she did'nt pose a threat, he could not touch her. Fujin vanished within the wind, immediately leaving to speak with the elder gods.

The training session had begun, and both Kenshi and Cassie were engaged in an intense sparring match with neither of them using their special abilities. Although he was holding back, Kenshi was very impressed with how far along Cassie had come. She wasn't sharp, but she was displaying great technique. Cassie was striking rapidly, but Kenshi was able to block or dodge every single attack. She tried to sneak in a leg kick, only to have Kenshi check it by throwing one of his own. Their shins collided, with Cassie flipping away to avoid Kenshi's round house kick follow up. About three feet of space laid in between them. Cassie was still in her fighting stance, and so was Kenshi before he stood up straight and placed his hands back behind his back.

"Alright, now your just getting cocky," she said, still prepared to fight.

"Lets cut today's training short," he suddenly told her, "We will resume later."

Cassie was confused as he had never cut a training session short, but saw no point in pursuing why. She simply shrugged her shoulders and left the dojo.

"Its been a long time," Kenshi said aloud once Cassie was gone, causing Fujin to reveal himself in a twist of wind.

"She looks and fights a lot like her mother," Fujin stated.

"But acts like her father," Kenshi added on, "Maybe just a little less annoying."

"Yes, Johnny was quiet the character," said Fujin with a reminiscent smile.

"You didn't just come here to chat. What has happened now?" Kenshi asked.

"I fear that Earthrealm may once again be in grave danger," Fujin informed him very seriously.


	2. Chapter 2: The Shirai Ryu

The sea of trees at the base of Mount Fuji, Japan. The Shirai Ryu Temple sits peacefully, hidden within the lower landscapes of the mountain. As the morning sun stabs through the darkness of the trees, two combatants face one another in the training court of the Shirai Ryu Temple. Between them, but a distance away, stands Hanzo Hasashi. Hanzo now has a human appearance due to the process of (mostly) cleansing himself of his inner hatred and Quan Chi's corruption. He resembles his former self, a middle age Japanese male. He is wearing his traditional uniform, but modified with a hood over his head and without a face mask.

The combatants waited patiently as their hearts raced. Both are extremely young men who were raised within the Shirai Ryu Clan. One of them was Forest Fox, Scorpion's personally trained apprentice. The other was Takeda, Kenshi's biological son. Both of them were dressed in Shirai Ryu ninja entire from head to toe, but with Fox wearing grey and Takeda wearing blue. Both were extremely tense, but Fox was the calmer of the two as he had no problem with combat.

"Begin!" commanded Hanzo as his voiced shatter the silence.

Fox made the first move, dashing towards Takeda, and throwing the first punch. Takeda negated to the side, but before he could counter, Fox followed up with a barrage of attacks. Takeda was noticeably the faster of the two seeing that he was able to block and avoid all of Fox's strikes, but Fox undeniably possessed more skill and technique. Takeda was forced into a defensive approach as he couldn't decode Fox's attacking styles. He saw Fox aiming for a punch to his stomach, so as he positioned his arms to block it he dropped his upper guard. Fox had fooled him, spinning from the fake into a back spin elbow that landed hard on the lower portion of Takeda's chin. Takeda was rocked, but his head was clear enough for him to realize he was in immediate danger. This caused him to flip backwards out of contact distance.

"Hmm, nice shot...ugh," he began to say but suddenly felt a hard driving force into the gut of his stomach.

Fox knew he couldn't let Takeda get away from him so he raced behind him when Takeda tried to get away and, because Takeda didn't see him, managed to put a heavy gut wrenching punch to his stomach. This blow left Takeda defenseless, causing his legs to go weak. Fox decided to finish the fight. As Takeda bent over in pain, he kneed him in the face. Once his opponent leaned his head backwards, Fox hit him with a round house kick that was so hard it sent Takeda spinning backwards into the air. Takeda landed on the ground hard on his front side and was laying face down.

"Enough!" yelled Hanzo, seeing that the fight was over.

Takeda rolled over onto his back. As he was looking up, the sun was beaming down into his eyes, causing him to only see a shadowy figure standing above him. He held his hand out to be helped up by Fox, which was usually done in the past between the two.

"Get up," said the shadowed out figure with disgust.

Takeda was confused until he shaded his eyes from the sun and realized that the man who was standing over him was Hanzo. All of a sudden it felt like a burst of energy flowed through him as he hopped to his feet.

"Hokage, I'm..."

"Shut up," Hanzo said, cutting him off, "I don't see why I waste my time teaching you, Wasp (Hanzo's nickname for Takeda). You clearly have learn nothing over the years."

"I have learned Hokage," Takeda said, spewing out a bit of hate due to Hanzo's criticism.

"Learned how to get your ass kicked," Hanzo told him, causing Fox, who was standing a few feet behind them, to muffle his laughter in his throat.

"I'm sorry," Takeda said, sounding more respectful and depressed.

"Being sorry," Hanzo began as he placed his hand on his shoulder, "Will get you killed. You continue to play around with your natural born abilities instead of using and pushing them to their fullest potential. Fox and I will not always be around, don't you understand that."

"I understand Hokage," Takeda replied.

"Good. You will face Fox again and this time I want to see..." before Hanzo could finish his sentence, his demonic spirit sensed a surrounding presence followed by a watchful feeling, "Guards up!"

Once the two young men heard him say this, they immediately took a fighting stance and prepare themselves for combat. Hanzo, Takeda, and Fox face their backs towards one another as each of them scanned their own individual sector. Things became extremely tense. Suddenly a burst of wind began to flow in different directions, causing dust and tree fragments to fly everywhere. The young warriors covered their eyes, but Hanzo stayed vigilant. Fujin then appeared above them, descending downward slowly with his arms crossed and a serious look on his face. Once he landed, Hanzo stood straight up as the other two did the same behind him.

"It has been a long time," Fujin stated.

"Yes it has," Hanzo replied, "What do the gods want from me now?"

"Not the gods, just me," Fujin informed him, "I need your help."

"Sorry. I'm not in the business of being manipulated and cast aside by your kind," Hanzo quickly spat at him.

"I understand what happened to you throughout the war, but believe me when I tell you that this time it is different."

"Why should I believe that?"

"Because Outworld has returned, and we must defend against them in Mortal Kombat," Fujin explained.

After hearing this, Hanzo had a small change of heart. He didn't care about Earthrealm so many years ago, but now it has become his home. Through solitude he managed to rebuild his clan by recruiting men and women who have endure the same journey of lost as he did, and has been able to live somewhat peacefully without worry. Outworld was now threatening all of this.

"This realm is home to me now, but I'm afraid that I can't help you. My soul still belongs to the Netherrealm," Hanzo told him.

"I already now that, otherwise I wouldn't have wasted my time coming here," Fujin replied.

"What do you mean?" Hanzo asked.

"I don't have much time to go over all the details. I have already informed Kenshi of this matter. He will be waiting for you at the Wu Shi Academy, that's if you decide to join us," Fujin responded, then faded away into the wind.

Hanzo breath a heavy sigh, turned around, and proceeded to walk back inside of his temple as he said, "Come. Your real training begins."

Within the deepest, darkest depths of the Flesh Pits of Outworld, Tanya is using powerful sorcery to watch Fujin's every move within a purplish cloud. The pit is extremely grim and dark with little light. Reiko is standing behind her wearing his battle entire with Shao Kahn's helmet clinched into his arm with the back plate touching his bicep and his hand holding the front portion, as if he was holding a football.

"I would have never thought Fujin would enlist the help of Scorpion. He is a fool if he thinks he can control the wraith," Tanya said.

"A statement that sounds true," Rekio credited, "But he doesn't appear to be the same demon that served your former mentor."

"Trust me. There is evil somewhere within him. No one deals with Quan Chi and walks away pure. I'll find a way to break him during the tournament," Tanya contemplated.

"No," Rekio rejected as he put on Shao Kahn's helmet, "He may be a threat to Fujin's chances in the tournament, but that will not make him anymore of an ally to us. I'll arrange plans for Scorpion in the coming hours. You focus on finishing the deal with Havik."

"As you wish, but as far as the wraith goes, don't make the mistake of having him attacked directly. Strike where his heart lies," Tanya advised with malicious intent in her voice.


	3. Chapter 3: Unfamiliar Allies

The Sky Temple hidden within the sacred mountains. Kai is sitting in meditation within the upper domain of the temple, continuing his ultimate pursuit of enlightenment. Kai looks to be in his late thirties to early forties. His hair is braided into cornrows that are twisted together into a long ponytail. His face is covered by his thick beard and he still has his trademark white tiger stripes on his arms, wearing a burgundy robe with orange pants underneath. The room is dim, lit only by dozens of candles. In his lap sits Raiden's staff, given to him by Fujin. As Kai was still deep within his meditative state, Fujin had returned. As he wisp his physical formed into the room through his power of the wind, he caused the flames on all the candles to go out. Kai remained still as he continued to sit in mediation, but was well aware of Fujin's presences. Kai climbed to his feet with his staff in his left had. With a wave of his right hand, fire spat from his palm and relit all of the candles.

"Seeing that your back so soon, I take it that everything went well with Hanzo," Kai said.

"Yes. He is on his way to the Wu Shi Academy as we speak," Fujin confirmed.

"I understand the circumstances, but I still think you shouldn't include him. I was able to help him when Kenshi first brought him to me, but if he reverts back..."

"I understand your concerns Kai, but I can't worry myself with that. Protecting Earthrealm is more important right now," Fujin said, cutting him off.

Fujin's comment had rub Kai the wrong way. He view Fujin as his mentor, becoming his understudy in order to further his enlightenment. He had never known for Fujin to disregard and risk another's well being. Kai wanted to say something, but remained silent out of respect and trust.

"I will be leaving for the Wu Shi Academy. I value your commitment to your oath, but Earthrealm needs you once more," Fujin suggested.

Kai was silent for a moment as he was torn, but finally said, "I have a duty to my oath. Participating in this tournament will tarnish years of purification. I am sorry," Kai apologized, causing Fujin to respect his decision and leave as he came.

The Wu Shi Academy. The sun had finally fallen and the moon rose to power in the night sky. Hanzo and his young trainees, Forest Fox and Takeda, were only about a mile away as they could see the academy off in the distances. They are all still wearing their entire from earlier that day. The two young men have rough-sacks on their backs that are filled with the necessary food and equipment they used along the way.

"So that is the Wu Shi Academy, Hokage?" asked Fox as they stopped for a short moment.

"Yes. Now lets keep moving," said Hanzo, and the three continued towards their destination.

"Ugly. Ugly. Cute, but bald. Way too old. Oh hell no," Cassie babble on as she pointed out various monks and was judging their looks. Kenshi and Cassie had arrived to the Wu Shi Academy that afternoon via helicopter, in which Cassie operated. Kenshi is now wearing his iconic black and red ronin gear, with his blind fold over his eyes, and Kento, his sword, on his back. Cassie has on her Special Forces entire, which is a light blue suit that covers her body from her neck down. They are both inside with the monks, who are all meditating in prayer. Kenshi and Cassie are leaning against the wall with Kenshi on his back with his arms crossed and Cassie on her shoulder picking fun.

"Enough Cassie," stated Kenshi.

"Come on sensei, I'm so bored. What are we even doing here anyway?"

"You will find out soon. Just find another way to entertain yourself."

"Ugh," Cassie expressed in fustration and walked outside.

Kenshi always had behavior problems with Cassie during his portion of raising her, but figure he would let her blow off a little steam as he too was becoming impatient. Cassie stormed outside and put in her earbud headphones that were given to her by her dad. As she was just about to put on some music, she notice three individuals that were heading towards the academy. It was obvious that none of them were Shoalin. Cassie took out her buds, drew her duel pistols out of her back straps, and slightly hid them behind her thighs as she walked towards them.

"That is far enough," Cassie demanded as they continued to walk in her direction.

"And who the hell are you?" asked the oldest looking one in the middle, who is Hanzo.

"Who the hell are you?" Cassie redirected in an insulting way.

"I don't have time for these games. Out of the way," he then stated as he and the other two tried to proceed.

Cassie revealed her guns, aimed at them, and said, "That far enough. Step any closer and I fire."

All three ignored her warning. Cassie fired off three rounds and hit Hanzo in the chest with all three. Hanzo flew backwards in the air on impact and fell to the ground.

"Hokage!" screamed Takeda.

Without missing a beat, Fox raced towards Cassie while Takeda was somewhat in shock. He whipped out a small dagger as his feet seemed to glided across the ground at the speed he was moving. By the time Cassie realized she was under attack, Fox had already slashed at her face. Cassie lean back just in time only for the blade to nick her right cheek. Cassie blocked his next two attacks with the barrel of her guns and spartan kick Fox in his chest. The kick pushed him back, but Fox remained on his feet. Cassie had enough distance in between them, aimed her guns, and fired off two rounds. Suddenly, Takeda slid in front of Fox with a katana sword and deflected both bullets with speed and precision. Before Cassie could make sense of what she had just saw, Takeda rushed her. At first Cassie was on edge, but recognized a lot of Takeda's techniques. The two went back and forth with Takeda slashes getting blocked and Cassie's bullets being deflected. Cassie busted out her power windmill kick and caught Takeda under his chin, blasting him off into the air. Before Cassie could catch her breath, she felt something rap around her left ankle. Fox had spun a chain on her, snatched her onto her back, and began dragging her rapidly towards her. Cassie thought fast and shot through the the chain. As she got up, her face was met with the back of Fox's elbow and the two engaged in head to head combat, with Takeda later joining in to help his Shirai Ryu brethren. While the three were facing off, a breath of air invaded Hanzo's lungs. He slowly climbed to his feet as his body forced out the bullets, that were now melted. For a short moment, Hanzo lost control of his psyche and Scorpion took over. His eyes glowed with the flames of the Netherrealm as the demonic specter looked in the direction of Cassie, who was still fending off the other two. Scorpion opened his mouth and began to suck in air, giving off a horrific sound. Fox heard this and could feel the evil spirit's presence override Hanzo's consciousness, causing him to take his attention away from Cassie.

"Hokage, no!" yelled out Fox, who had witness the wraith of Scorpion before.

Once his lungs were fully inflated, Scorpion unleashed a fury of fire from his mouth like a flame thrower. As the beam from hell was launched in their direction, Fox only had time to grab Takeda and leap out of the way, leaving Cassie defenseless and without an escape route. The flames engulfed her body and everything around her. Hanzo realized what he was doing. Both he and Scorpion battle for control, causing their body to grab it's head in confusion. Hanzo managed to force the demon back inside and take control. Hanzo stopped the blast immediately, but it looked as if it was too late. Hanzo fell to his knees and hands, gasping heavily.

To Cassie's surprise, she was alive. She didn't know how until she saw Kenshi standing in front of her. Kenshi sensed Hanzo's presence and, due to his heighten senses, heard the commotion going on outside. As Scorpion unleashed his wraith, Kenshi race to Cassie's rescue and used his telekinetic powers to divert the flames around them. Fox and Takeda raced to Hanzo's aide with both of them getting under each of his arms and lifting him up to his feet.

"What the hell is going on out here!" Kenshi demanded.

"You tell us! She is the one who attacked first!" Fox spat back.

"Bullshit!" Cassie intervene, trying to defend herself, "These assholes are the ones who..."

"Enough!" roared a voice over all of them. Fujin had finally arrived, descending from the sky with a look of anger and disappointment on his face, landing in between the two groups. "There will be no more bickering. I didn't have you come here to fight each other."

"Cassie, go inside," Kenshi commanded.

"You two as well," Hanzo managed to slip out of his inflamed throat.

"Oh hell no. Those two are not following me," Cassie rebutted.

"Cassie! Go!" Kenshi commanded once again with a lot of frustration towards her.

Cassie stomped off, muttering with anger. Takeda and Fox look at Hanzo who nodded his head that he was good to stand on his own and they too walked off. Now Fujin, Kenshi, and Hanzo stood alone and the intense atmosphere died down.

"You both understand that your young adolescences can't behave this way from here on out if we plan to be successful in the tournament," stated Fujin.

"Understood," said Hanzo while massaging his throat.

"Can't make any promises," Kenshi replied.

Fujin just stared blankly at Kenshi for a moment and said, "On to other matters. It has been determined that Mortal Kombat will begin nine days from now. We must prepare immediately and decide on eight combatants that will represent Earthrealm."

"Speaking of that, you stated before that my belonging to the Netherrealm didn't matter. How so?" questioned Hanzo with great curiosity.

"Outworld has tampered with the rules to allow any combatant to decide which side he or she would rather represent," Fujin explained.

"Are you sure that it is not a trick?" asked Kenshi.

"I have gone over the rules with the Elder Gods and they have been enforced. Hanzo may represent Earthrealm if he chooses," Fujin paused for a second, walked over to Hanzo, and placed his hand on his shoulder, "But understand that you must keep your inner demon under control. I can't allow you to join us if..." Fujin paused once again but this time it was because he was having a vision through Raiden's medallion. The vision were filled with images of death and murder. He took his hand off of Hanzo once he realized what he had saw and had a horrific look in his eyes.

"What is wrong?" asked Hanzo out of concern.

"We must leave for your temple now!"


	4. Chapter 4: The Grieved and Broken

Fujin and Hanzo teleported back to the Shirai Ryu Temple in a burst of wind and a blaze of fire, leaving Kenshi in charge until their return. As Fujin expected, they were to late. He stood outside the temple while Hanzo ventured inside. The sight would have made even the most sadistic man on Earth sick. Pools of blood invaded the floors and the splatter painted the walls. Everyone that Hanzo recruited, both men and women, were slaughtered. The sight of the young orphans that he had taken in was the hardest for Hanzo to witness. This is the second time his clan was massacred during his absence, and he couldn't help but feel guilty. His tighten fists slowly began to turn reddish and hot as mix emotions were flowing through him. Tears gently ran down his cheeks as he dropped to his knees and smashed his inflamed fist into the floor, causing a fire to spread. The pain in Hanzo was something that was eating at him badly as he let out a scream of frustration. The fire spread faster, engulfing the bodies and running up the walls. Hanzo looked up as the new life he built for himself was burning down. He began to feel as if he didn't deserve a family, and as he stood up, there was an obvious change within him. As he was taking one last look, he noticed that one of his fallen brothers had something clinched in his left hand. Hanzo took it, and upon examination, he automatically knew who the culprits were.

Fujin was still standing outside, watching the fire dance inside the temple. He felt bad for Hanzo and was prepared to face his demonic state. His wait came to an end as he could see a shadowy figure emerging from the flames through the entrance. Hanzo walked out, but was now wearing the mouth guard to complete his uniform and weaponized black gauntlets with hidden spears and chains. Fujin was a bit on edge at first, but his tension eased once he saw the pupils in Hanzo's eyes and not Scorpion's undead eyes. Yet Fujin still notice a difference in him.

"I'm sorry," Fujin grieved with him, but notice a piece of red cloth in his right hand.

"I don't need your pity," Hanzo replied in a calm, dark voice as he continued to stray pass Fujin and appeared to just be walking without a destination.

"Where are you going Hanzo?" Fujin questioned.

Hanzo stop and turned his head backwards to look back at him and the burning temple and said, "Doesn't matter now."

Fujin stood without words as Hanzo slowly faded away into the darkness of the trees. He was aware of what had happen before with the original Shirai Ryu and couldn't imagine what was going through his head. Fujin took one last look at the temple that was finally starting to crumble from the blaze. He couldn't help but feel that he was partly at fault. If he had never included Hanzo, his clan may have lived on and Hanzo wouldn't have to endure this all over again. Fujin disintegrated into the wind, praying that this wouldn't eventually push Hanzo over the edge.

The morning sun had arisen, shining light over the Wu Shi Academy. Fujin, who came back that very morning, broke the news to Kenshi, Forrest Fox, and Takeda outside while Cassie was still asleep inside the academy. Hearts became heavy and tears were shed among the young Shirai Ryu warriors. Fox was obviously taking it the hardest even though he was trying to hold back his emotions. Fujin managed to convince the young men to stay at the academy seeing that they had nowhere else to go. The Shaolin arranged housing for them and took them inside. Fujin and Kenshi remain in the elements, discussing the circumstances.

"So Hanzo isn't coming?" Kenshi asked once the other two were inside.

"No," Fujin said, being realistic about the situation.

"So what now?" asked Kenshi.

"Do you trust me?" Fujin asked mysteriously.

"Of coarse," Kenshi quickly stated.

"Then take me to the Special Forces asylum. I want to speak to Liu Kang."

In the Outworld Empire, formally known as Shao Kahn's Fortress, a death match is taking place within the arena. Kotal Kahn, the dominate ruler of Outworld, stands in chains on the emperors balcony, watching helplessly as his father, Kotal K'etz, battles King Goro. Kotal is of Osh-Tekk descent, a race that have blueish green skin and are known for their war mentality and honor. He wears an Aztec eagle warrior headdress, brown lion cloth with varies skull fragments as designs, and has glowing tattoos. Reiko sits next to him upon his throne while his wife, Mileena, watches eagerly from the railing of the balcony. The crowd cheers ferociously for bloodshed.

"You hear Kotal," Reiko said, beginning to mentally antagonize him, "They no longer believe you. Your short lived dynasty is beginning to crumble."

"You speak of nothing but traitors such as yourself. I care nothing for them," Kotal stated.

"They feel the same," Reiko replied cleverly.

Within the Arena, Kotal K'etz fought for his life. Goro was obviously dominating the fight with brute strength and power. K'etz punched Goro in the face with all his might, cracking the Shokan's jaw and knocking out a few teeth. Goro spat the blood from his mouth and threw a heymaker of his own, but missed. K'etz landed another hard blow to Goro's rib cage. Goro stumbled backwards. Kotal K'etz saw another chance for an attack and ran towards Goro, leaped into the air, and brought down a heavy elbow to Goro's forehead. Yet this was a mistake as he may have landed another hard blow, but he was now in Goro's clutch range as the King of Shokan's rapped him up with his lower arms holding the Osh-Tekk warrior by his waist. Goro began pounding him on top of his head with his upper fist, shatter K'etz facial, shoulder, and collarbones with every blow. Goro dropped K'etz battered body onto the ground and proceeded to gloat. The crowd was loving it. Though his body begged him to lie in defeat, Kotal K'etz pride forced him to get up. He rushed behind Goro, and leaped onto Goro's back. He got a couple of punches into Goro's face before Goro reached upward, grabbed him by his arms, and slammed him on the ground so hard that it shatter pieces of his spine and shoulder blades. The began chanting "King Goro" as he looked up to Mileena to receive the life or death signal. Mileena childishly shot both of her thumbs down, placing a devilish smile onto Goro's face. Goro picked up Kotal K'etz like a rag doll and held him from behind with both his lower arms holding K'etz arms out as if he was on a cross. Goro placed his massive hands around his head and slowly squeezed to tighten his grip a bit. K'etz looked upward as best he could to see his saw watching helplessly. Goro slowly began to pry his head from his torso. The flesh in his neck starts to rip and tear as Goro pulls harder. Finally, Kotal K'etz body goes limp as his head is held into the air like a trophy. Kotal Kahn sheds a tear as his father has fallen.

"No need to shed tears Kotal. You will be with him soon," Reiko told him as the crowd of insurgents cheered in Goro's glory, "Take him away," he told the guards who stood behind Kotal, "Goro must rest for their up and coming battle."

As Kotal Kahn was guided away, Daegon enter onto the balcony and stood next to Reiko's throne chair as Mileena was still watching Goro belittle Kotal K'etz body in victory.

"Your plan seems to be coming into fruition," Daegon stated, making his presence known.

"Yes, but there is still lots of work that needs to be done. Speaking of which, have your men accomplished their mission?"

"Yes. The Shirai Ryu have been successfully eradicated," Daegon informed him proudly.

"Good. Now we wait," Reiko said viciously.

Kotal Kahn's capture during the Battle of the Golden Desert was a huge victory for the the Outworld Insurgency, giving Reiko the strategic advantage over Kahnum, Kotal Kahn's kingdom of Z'Unkahrah, for the pass few months as only Kotal Kahn can match his tactical brilliance. It was a huge mistake by Kotal, being too eager to eliminate Mileena and rid her of Shao Kahn's heir rights. Kotal Kahn has been kept in darkness and beaten over his captive state to weaken him for Goro, but Kotal has spent this time planning his escape that he now had to put into action immediately.

The Asylum of the Special Forces facilities. Fujin and Kenshi made the long journey to back to the United States, leaving the others with the Shaolin monks for protection in the wake of the Shirai Ryu massacre.

"With all due respect, I don't agree with this," Kenshi acknowledged as they stood at the highly secured cell door.

"Neither do I, but with Hanzo gone, we don't have many options," Fujin explained.

Kenshi wanted to debate the option more and try to convince him, but Fujin seemed dead set on this. Kenshi looked over to the door operator and nodded his head, signaling him to open the door. A loud noise sounded off and the door automatically slid open. Fujin and Kenshi step inside the dark room to see Liu Kang sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, with his upper torso fully concealed by the darkness. He is wearing a blue uniform and rapped in a straight jacket.

"Fujin, what a surprise. Who is the old guy?" Liu Kang asked sarcastically with a dark, evil like tone in his voice.

"Lets not play games Liu Kang," Fujin said.

"But I love games," Liu replied.

"I've come with an offer," Fujin said, getting to the piont as he wasn't in the mood for mind games.

"An offer? My lucky day," Liu Kang said, continuing to be sarcastic and psychotic.

"We're giving you a chance to get out of here. Maybe you should show more respect," Kenshi grunted as he had an extreme bitterness towards him for past actions.

Liu Kang began to chuckle, stood up, and said, "Do you really think I need you to walk out that door," Liu Kang shimmied a bit and the straight jacket fell off of him, "I surrendered my free will, and I can take it back anytime I want. So what the hell can you offer me."

"Immortality," Fujin said.

"Funny. You're dumber than the old guy," Liu Kang said, referring to Kenshi, "I'm the reigning champion of Mortal Kombat. By the grace of the pathetic Elder Gods, I've been given eternal life."

"True, for now," Fujin said, being to toy with Liu Kang at his own game.

"What are you talking about?" Liu Kang asked, being caught off guard by the statement.

"In nine days, another Mortal Kombat tournament will begin and if you don't participate on behalf of Earthrealm, you will be stripped of your title and gift," Fujin explained, leaving out a few details of the tournament's arrangements.

"Your lying," Liu Kang said, refusing to believe.

"I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't true? I believe you're nothing more than a monster that deserve nothing better then the deepest depths of the Netherrealm, but I'm willing to give you a chance to retain your selfish prize for the greater good," Fujin said, spilling a bit of hatred out of his composure.

Liu Kang was silent. This prompt both Fujin and Kenshi to begin to leave. Right when Fujin place a single foot out of the door, Liu Kang said, "I want all of my gear returned to me, and if I'm going to do this, know that I'm doing to do it my way."


End file.
